Tin City, Alaska

View from my room - Tin City, Alaska Bering Sea

One of the benefits of my job is flying into historically rich locations around the state of Alaska. I arrived at Tin City, almost a week ago now; a place where the remains of the past speak of times gone by. From the window of my third story room, I look, in the not too far off distance, at dilapidated buildings, rusted tanks, inoperable equipment and debris strewn in the snow - all of which were long since abandoned near the mouth of Cape Creek.
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In 1903 two mining companies worked to extract Tin from Cape Mountain. Then in 1909, the town closed its last remaining door at the Tin City Post Office when prosperity fell silent along the Bering Sea. In 1950 the military moved in and set up the Tin City Long Range Radar System.

As I walk down the comparatively quiet halls of the building where I work, I try to image when life buzzed within these corridors. This concrete structure once housed a Chaple and an onsite Chaplin, a bowling alley and a theater, a Trooper’s office and a kitchen that apparently fed up to some several hundred people.

Polar bear cages barricade the sites entrances. Since we are located just six miles southeast of Wales, the place where a recent polar bear attack transpired, I feel grateful for the added security; but, I must say, the cages do lend an ominous air.

I hope you enjoy these photos. I’ll add more as opportunity presents.